Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis: A Philosophical Investigation

Situated somewhere in no man’s land, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (CFS/ME) presents scientific and social issues to those who research, treat and experience it. Living with CFS/ME is profoundly disruptive; it is exceptionally physically, emotionally and socially difficult. This thesis offers the first philosophical analysis of the condition, how it is experienced, and how it is handled. A phenomenological perspective is present throughout this analysis. How does the world of the person with CFS/ME change? How do we understand the sense of loss in CFS/ME, and does it amount to grief, or is grief reserved for bereavement? How does CFS/ME obstruct emotion regulation? How, if at all, are these experiences distinct from depression? How much epistemic privilege, and over which domains, belongs to medical professionals, and how much of it belongs to patients? Which social and political issues can be attributed to distinctive types of injustice, and which have their roots in something else? What does this mean for how we understand the newly-emergent phenomenon of “Long Covid”? The answers to each of these questions are taken to support the view that a significantly improved understanding of CFS/ME is dependent upon the revision of a collection of commonplace distinctions and categories which currently restrict our efforts. A nuanced investigation of CFS/ME reveals the restrictiveness of the distinctions between psychiatric and somatic illness, between functional and organic illness, and between primary and secondary psychopathology. An approach to CFS/ME which is not bound by the confines of these distinctions shows itself to be uniquely illuminating

Mantel's Social Work Gothic: Trauma and State care in Every Day is Mother's Day and Vacant Possession

Chapters cover such topics as Mante;s engagement with history to her deployment of the spectral and her extensive intertextuality. The book also includes a comprehensive interview with Mantel herself that explores her work and career

Autumn, Winter, Never Spring: Ali Smith's Brexit Season

Abstract This essay discusses the depiction of the post –Brexit British landscape in the first three novels in Ali Smith’s season-themed State of the Nation quartet, Autumn (2016), Winter (2017) and Spring (2018). It engages with contemporary ecocritical and feminist conceptualisations of climate change, and debates about the relationship between ecological crisis and the current political landscape to consider the ways in which these subjects are embedded in Smith’s trilogy named for the seasons. It reflects on the potential for the novel form to attempt to bear witness to the present political moment and argues that Smith’s fragmented and polyvocal texts represent an ethical and politically engaged approach to the contemporary crisis, where the novel can seek to enable or rehearse dialogues between groups whose positions are entrenched and at an impasse. It discusses the ways in which the novels dramatise the necessary ways out of seemingly irreconcilable differences through a celebration of empathy, ecological awareness and hospitality

Chain reaction final report

Chain Reaction was a three-year project funded by the European Commission. Its key aim was to develop Inquiry Based Science Education (IBSE) across twelve partner countries—United Kingdom, Italy, Slovakia, Turkey, Bulgaria, France, Slovenia, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Jordan, Georgia. The key underpinning element of the project was the development and deployment of interactive and engaging professional development for science teacher educators from each participating country. The science teacher educators involved were introduced to ‘tried and tested’ inquiry-themed science resources and worked collaboratively with project members to gain a clear understanding of the philosophy and mechanisms involved in designing and facilitating inquiry in the science classroom. Once fully cognisant in the use of the resources the science teacher educators, from each partner, designed and delivered a dedicated professional development course for participating science teachers. The specific nature of each professional development event varied from partner to partner but was consistent in its aim to develop participating teachers’ confidence and skills in using the resources with their science students. Following the professional development sessions in each country, science teachers were able to deliver a series of inquiry-based sessions

The comparative phenomenology of pregnancy and depression

This thesis proposes that the adoption of the phenomenological perspective has potential to cultivate a uniquely rich sort of self-understanding in women throughout pregnancy and early motherhood. I argue that contemporary reductionist theories of consciousness in both philosophy and psychiatry fail to recognise the irreducibility of the subject, and in turn, the relationship between mind, body, and world. From this, I defend the adoption of a moderately naturalised phenomenological perspective on changes to the structure of experience in pregnancy. I then offer an analysis of the phenomenology of pregnancy and early motherhood, working with existing literature on the phenomenology of illness, with particular focus on depression. I explore some factors that might influence certain women’s vulnerability to depression-like experience in pregnancy, proposing that for such vulnerable individuals, the way in which experience can alter in pregnancy can involve phenomenologically-rich structural similarities to the ways in which experience can alter in illness. Finally, I argue that the dominance of the reductionist paradigm that I resisted results in various types of epistemic injustices being committed against such women in the clinical encounter. From this, I suggest how the adoption of the phenomenological perspective might work to mitigate the effects of these injustices, facilitating self-understanding and resilience in the women in question

The covid-19 pandemic and the Bounds of grief

ABSTRACTThis article addresses the question of whether certain experiences that originate in causes other than bereavement are properly termed ‘grief’. To do so, we focus on widespread experiences of grief that have been reported during the Covid-19 pandemic. We consider two potential objections to a more permissive use of the term: grief is, by definition, a response to a death; grief is subject to certain norms that apply only to the case of bereavement. Having shown that these objections are unconvincing, we sketch a positive case for a conception of grief that is not specific to bereavement, by noting some features that grief following bereavement shares with other experiences of loss

Maths and physics teacher supply package

Process evaluation of four strands of the maths and physics supply package, with recommendations for evaluation of the full programme

The Covid-19 Pandemic and the Bounds of Grief

This article addresses the question of whether certain experiences that originate in causes other than bereavement are properly termed ‘grief’. To do so, we focus on widespread experiences of grief that have been reported during the Covid-19 pandemic. We consider two potential objections to a more permissive use of the term: (i) grief is, by definition, a response to a death; (ii) grief is subject to certain norms that apply only to the case of bereavement. Having shown that these objections are unconvincing, we sketch a positive case for a conception of grief that is not specific to bereavement, by noting some features that grief following bereavement shares with other experiences of loss

Network diversity, distance and economic impact in a cluster: visualising linkages and assessing network capital

Purpose – Effective policy to support business ecosystems should build on evidence-based analyses of firm level activities and outcomes. This paper aims to contribute to this requirement and makes three contributions. The first contribution is to extend the application of the network capital concept to a variety of eight distinct linkage categories (e.g. suppliers, customers and business support agencies) that support networking and clustering, in both activity and impact terms. The second contribution is outlining a novel method of network visualisation (V-LINC) based on the collection of primary and qualitative data. The third contribution is in applying the method to one cluster, information and communications technologies. Design/methodology/approach – Qualitative research on the nature and extent of organisational network linkages was undertaken. Structured interviews with a set of focal firms followed a tailored design approach. The concept of network capital was extended and applied to the cluster context by measuring network inputs and output (i.e. investments and impact). The approach was operationalised via a novel impact measurement approach, denoted as V-LINC, an acronym for visualising linkages in networks and clusters. Findings – The authors develop a business impact framework exploiting novel linkage visualisations and qualitative data from firms in a cluster in one city region across eight linkage types to capture distinct network capital elements. Organisational inputs into network development, measured as investment and involvement indicators and organisational outcomes from those networks, measured as importance and intensity indicators, are used to assess network performance. A comprehensive, systematic and robust analysis of network elements and performance is possible. Distance is found to interact differently across linkage types. Targeted recommendations may be made from the analysis of local or regional business ecosystems in light of measured business impacts of linkages. Research limitations/implications – Due to the resource-intensive nature of data collection, the current study engages a limited sample of firms and interviewees. Applications of this approach in other contexts will permit further research into its usefulness in evaluating business impacts generated through networking activities. Originality/value – The method introduced here (V-LINC) offers a novel means to include both geography network theory into an understanding of knowledge relationships and networks within clusters. Accounting for both distance and linkage type reveals which categories of intra-regional and extra-regional linkages generate the greatest impact, given their frequency. The approach adds to available cluster visualisation and analysis approaches through identifying patterns of disaggregated knowledge flows and their impacts, with application to evaluation demands of policy